


A Guide To Making Friends In A New Town: Accidentally Finding Out You Have Superpowers Edition

by SentientWaterCooler



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Mentions of The Adventure Zone: Balance, NO ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS., No beta we die like a goat bastard in a drug van, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, They/Them Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, minor Transphobia, ranboo consumes bad substitute teachers into the voidTM, techno likes to skateboard and also teaches history
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29485938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientWaterCooler/pseuds/SentientWaterCooler
Summary: Another cramped backseat, another day.Thomas Issac-Daniels was, as teachers put it, a problem child. He never turned in his assignments on time, he never spoke in class, when he did speak, he was loud and had a blue streak. So when he ran from his new foster home in the dead of night, the only person who made an effort to look for him was his social worker, simply to preserve an image.The only reason he was in this shitty cab anyway is ‘cause some lady called the cops on him for pickpocketing…When Tommy had first gotten to the police station and given them his name, he fully expected to go back to the overfull home he was in before. To his confusion, the lady only said, “Oh you’re the kid…”Before he could retaliate, the policewoman told him what he needed to know.“Some rich guy out of town adopted you while you were gone, you’re his problem now.”And that was the short version of how Tommy ended up in the back of a musty cab with what few belongings he owned next to him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & TommyInnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Technoblade, Eret & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Implied Karlnapity - Relationship, Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 59
Kudos: 271





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Everybody say thank you to the adventure zone balance and John mulaney for beating me with a stick until I started to write again 🎤  
> \- - - -
> 
> !!CW for some implied sexual language, starts after ““this,” Eret swung their arms to open the door” and ends at “the one across from the man” as well as the very last line!!
> 
> (If you’ve listened to TAZ, it’s the taakitz meeting)

Another cramped backseat, another day.

Thomas Issac-Daniels was, as teachers put it, a problem child. He never turned in his assignments on time, he never spoke in class, when he did speak, he was loud and had a blue streak. So when he ran from his new foster home in the dead of night, the only person who made an effort to look for him was his social worker, simply to preserve an image.

_The only reason he was in this shitty cab anyway is ‘cause some lady called the cops on him for pickpocketing…_

When Tommy had first gotten to the police station and given them his name, he fully expected to go back to the overfull home he was in before. To his confusion, the lady only said, “Oh _you’re_ the kid…”

Before he could retaliate, the policewoman told him what he needed to know.

“Some rich guy out of town adopted you while you were gone, you’re his problem now.”

And that was the short version of how Tommy ended up in the back of a musty cab with what few belongings he owned next to him.

\- - - - - - - - - - - 

He must have fallen asleep somewhere along the way, for he was abruptly awoken by the driver telling him that they had arrived at the spot his apparent new ‘Dad’ had designated him to be dropped off.

Tommy grabbed his bag and stepped out of the car. Taking a short glance around, the first thing he could notice was the cleanliness of the town. There was no litter on the pavement, no still smoldering cigarette-butts, no empty juul pods, nothing. The grass was a deep green, not to mention how lush the trees were. Upon squinting, Tommy could make out a thick tree line in the distance. A plan to escape was already forming in the teen’s head, when someone spoke behind him.

“Hello there! Tommy right?” 

He spun around to face a person in platform boots, a long skirt, and a tucked in button up shirt.

“My name is Eret,” Ok so Tommy had a name now, “and my pronouns are currently they/them.”

He stumbled out a response, not expecting to had to have talked to someone so soon, “Oh, erm, my pronouns are he/him/his and my name is uh-” Tommy didn’t have the chance to say his name before Eret cut in.

“I already know your name, no worries. Phil sent me to give you a tour around the town in his stead. He’s…. a tad preoccupied currently…” Eret said, trailing off. Tommy couldn’t see it, but they were fighting a smile off their face.

This was a minor setback in his plan to escape, however Tommy highly doubted that they could catch him in those boots, nevertheless be able to run in that outfit.

Taking another quick glance around, he saw that Eret was the only person around. If he could make it into the trees over yonder then maybe….

Eret took a large step to the side, blocking Tommy’s escape route, and leaned down by his ear.

“The woods surround this entire town and it’s 20 miles to the text one, so I’d advise against running.” They said with traces of malice.

Eret stood back up with a smile and turned to face the nearby buildings.

“Well then, welcome to our humble town Tommy! Over here is the strip mall, run by Schlatt, although who knows why an 18 year old is running a mall…” Eret started forward much faster than he expected, and talking at double the pace. Tommy had to near jog to keep up with them, and had finally come to the realization that there was no way out for now…

\- - - - - - - - - - -

“...aaand that’s the school over there, Tubbo’s gonna show you around tomorrow though, and here we are!” Eret had finally stopped walking, only to point at a relatively large building.

“Is this the house?” Tommy asked. He wasn’t too ecstatic at possibly living in a building that had weird orange circles as art on the walls.

Eret turned to him, mildly amused, “No, this is the library. Tommy have you lived in a house that looked like this before?” They were stifling laughter now, presumably imagining what could have even made Tommy think that.

Tommy on the other hand, was recalling the weirdest house he had ever been in. From the second him and his case worker walked in the house, there was what looked like a bundle of welded together scrap metals. Apparently it was a fish.

“It was a weird house Big E, I’ll tell you that,” Tommy joked, “but uh, what are we doing at a library?” He was following Eret in anyway, in an effort not to get lost in this here town on his first day.

“Well, Phil isn’t done preparing yet, so we’re going to go play dnd with some friends while we wait.”

“Ok cool, cool,” Tommy replied, “one question though, what exactly is ‘dnd’-”

As Tommy caught up with Eret, they turned to him with a grin. Muffled shouting could be heard from inside, and as the noise grew, so did Eret’s smile.

“This,” They raised their arms to open the door, “is dnd,”

  
  


“HEY THUG WHAT’S YOUR NAME,” A man with a yellow sweater and burgundy beanie screeched, “I'M ABOUT TO TENTACLE YOUR DICK AND I WANNA CREDIT YOU FOR THE TENTACLE PORN I’M ABOUT TO MAKE WITH YOUR BODY”

The one across from the man screaming immediately broke down in laughter, whilst the person, behind what looked like a detailed wall of cardboard, set their head down and smacked it on the table.

When they lifted their head up, a glimmer of hope seemed to return to their eyes when they saw the two at the door.

“Eret please for the love of god _help_.” The person said, the pain in their voice apparent.

“No worries Techno, I’ve brought a new player to balance out the chaos, and he can play Angus,” Eret replied in between laughs, “Tommy, you can sit over by Tubbo.” They gestured to the left side of the table, where the boy who was laughing sat. The person in question, then fell out of the chair, still laughing on the ground.

“...Do you mean the small child who just fell out of that chair…” Tommy questioned, mildly scared about what he was about to take part in.

“I AM _NOT_ A CHILD-”

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

Well that was mildly traumatic.

Tommy basically got bullied the entire time, by Toby especially. While he had fun, he also forgot to ask the name of the other player, Only knowing Techno’s from Eret saying it when they walked in. He highly doubted that the man’s name was a weird spelling of taco anyway.

After the session had ended, Eret said that they needed to go one last place before they could finally go to Tommy’s new ‘home’.

When Eret stopped in front of what looked to be a renovated house, he assumed that this was the place they were going.

“Eret?” Tommy questioned, “What’s a ‘meet-a-physical’ shop? Is this some sort of doctors visit? I don’t have rabies if that’s what the rich man is scared about-”

Eret keeled over laughing, no longer able to keep their composure at Tommy’s inherent lack of knowledge.

“Tommy it’s pronounced ‘met-ah-physical’, and no this isn't a clinic,” Eret finally said back, a tad out of breath from laughter.

They strolled forward with Tommy in tow, and opened the door to the shop.

“We’re just here to pick up some crystals and herbs- Hello Puffy!” They cut off their sentence to address the woman behind the counter.

She stood up fully, seemingly readjusting some rose quartz in the glass casing before the two walked in.

“Hi Eret, always nice to see you! And hello there to you too! My name is Cara, but everyone calls me Puffy, and might I ask yours?” She said, turning to him with a smile. Tommy could feel the positive energy radiating off her, albeit it being an odd sensation.

“‘Allo..! Erm, my name is Tommy. Nice to uh, nice to meet you.”

“And it’s nice to meet you as well Tommy! If you want to go look around the shop while Eret and I chat, you’re absolutely welcome to!” She said, gesturing to the different rooms in the shop.

Tommy gave a simple nod and left the room. The room he had entered had a table in the middle of the room, adorned with crystals of varying opacities. Along one wall was a table, various animals made of glass and minerals alike neatly set on it. The most expensive ones were a green jade cat and an obsidian rabbit, both $150 dollars. He never knew crystals were so expensive. However the 2 items that caught his eye were a glass bee and a moth, made out of something called selenite. The bee was relatively cheap, as it was only made of glass, but the moth was a bit more on the spendy side. He decided to move on for now, fully intending to come back later for them both.

On the adjacent wall, was a stylish hexagonal shelving unit, holding boxes of incense in each one. The teen had absolutely no clue what half of these over-glorified spices ever were, so he grabbed a box and looked it over. The label on it said lavender and…. something called mugwort? As he was about to sniff the box, Eret came over and took it out of his hand, placing it back on the shelf.

“Let’s stay away from mugwort for now buddy, is there anything else that caught your eye?” They asked, avoiding why mugwort was not allowed.

Unbeknownst to Eret, they had just walked themselves right into the setup for one of Tommy’s signature bits.

“Actually big man, there is something.” Tommy walked back over to the table he was at before and turned back to Eret.

“You see, I want a moth and I want one now. I want a moth and I wanna name it _Clementine_.”

Eret looked mildly stunned, before responding.

“..I mean alright? Phil gave me some money for this, and we have a bit left over, so it’ll probably be alright?” Tommy wasn’t expected that answer, to be perfectly honest.

He went to pick up the selenite moth and handed it to Eret, who then walked to the counter that Puffy was at.

“You mind adding this to the till Cap’?” Eret asked. Already on the counter were some white candles, dried lavender, and an assortment of small chunks of clear quartz & amethyst.

“Alllllright, your total is $241, y’all want a bag?” Her question was responded to by a grimace from the tallest there. They turned to Tommy with an apologetic look, before getting cut off by Puffy again.

“Eret, how much do you have?” She asked, the tone of her voice fully intending to strike a deal with him.

“I’m about $41 short, but it’s no worries really I can just pay with my own money-”

“Eret just give me what you have, it’s fine,” Puffy said, “I know you’re good for it anyway. But you come back now, you hear?” That last sentence was directed at Tommy, along with a vicious finger waggle.

“Yes ma’am Miss Puffy” Tommy saluted her, grabbing his precious _Clementine_ before Puffy could set it in a bag.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

When they arrived at the house, Eret handed Tommy the bags from the shop and left to go back home.

The house was quite different than what Tommy expected it to be.

In replacement of the extravagant quartz mansion he imagined, it was a simple wooden cabin, albeit a big one.

He went to knock on the door, making a point to use the knocker, simply because it was there.

A string of muffled swears was heard from inside before the door swung open, revealing a man, only an inch taller than Tommy.

“Hello! You must be Tommy. It is so glad to finally meet you, come in, come in!” He said, waving him inside.

“My name is Phil, but feel free to call me whatever you like. Would you care for a cookie?” Phil asked, offering up a plate of cookies.

“Ah, no thank you.” Tommy responded.

“Alright then, I’ll set them on the counter if you ever want any. Now if you’ll excuse me for one second,” Phil walked over to the staircase, and shouted up, “WILL, GET DOWN HERE AND SAY HI TO YOUR NEW BROTHER”

“DAD I DON’T WANNA TALK TO SOME FUCKING GREMLIN CHILD AT 6 PM AT NIGHT”

“WILBUR SOOT. GET YOUR PASTY ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW”

Oh. So that’s the vibe of this house.

A loud groan was heard from upstairs, followed by loud footsteps descending down the steps.

“Hi. Welcome to our humble abode. Do not sp-”

“TENTACLE PORN BOY???”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A first proper day.
> 
> !!CW for food!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God it’s been a hot second huh? This took forever to write (for plot reasons I can’t specify ;) ) but uh, with this out I’d just like to make a small announcement
> 
> If you are prone to derealization and/or triggered by uncanny valley things, I strongly wish for you to stop reading this fic. While normally I would put a CW at the beginning of a chapter for this type of stuff, this is too big of a plot point to mark and it is near impossible to continue reading without knowing those bits of story.

At first, Tommy didn’t realize what he said, however when a loud crash could be heard from upstairs (accompanied by loud cackling), it registered.

Everyone’s voices overlapped a second later, in varying degrees of confusion.

“WHY IS THAT HOW YOU REMEMBER ME?!”

“Will what the actual FUCK does that mean-”

“SOOT DID YOU NOT KNOW?”

“I MEANT TACO MAN I SWEAR-”

\- - - - - - - - - - -

Techno was also called downstairs, and the three of them were then forced to explain their first meeting, crystals and ghosts alike.

While Phil was laughing by the end of the retelling, Wilbur was still stuck with dishes for the next two weeks. Something about a ‘subpar first introduction’.

With a pointed glare from the new dish boy, Phil ushered Tommy up the stairs, wanting to show the boy his new quarters. They turned right down a hallway where all the bedrooms were, ¾ doors having their own personal flair. 

On one of them, there was a flattened Burger King crown crudely taped down, a few pink worm on a string’s (held up by white washi tape), and a few stickers, the most prominent of the bunch being ‘how dare you mistake me for a Cis PersonTM’ and ‘the wœrms see all. do not run from their rule. they Will find you.’. 

The adjacent door to the aforementioned was mostly covered in short lines of music, the only exception being a newspaper clipping titled ‘Local Bozo Commits Shockingly Aquatic Crime’. 

The last door, voiding the bathroom and what seemed to be his room, was the most decorated. It was slightly ajar, a green striped bucket hat preventing it from closing all the way. The door itself was covered in photos, paper and Polaroid alike. Most were group photos of Phil and his kids, however there were some of Will and Techno together or by themselves.

The room itself was plain. There was a twin sized bed in one corner with white sheets and pillows, and a wooden desk on the other side of the room. The walls were a dull grey, if you looked hard enough, you could see where there used to be screws.

“Well, I’ll let you get settled in. If you need anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask. Tomorrow after you get out of classes, we can go out and get some things to spice up the room, that alright mate?” Tommy gave Phil a curt nod, to which the older closed the door.

Tommy set his bag down on the bed, unpacking his things. There were some drawers under the bed, in which he set his spare shirts and coat. Crossing over to the desk, there was a small digital clock on it. He set down his tapes and cassette player next to it and neatly wrapped the headphones around it.

The clock said that it was nearly 9 PM, a decent time to go to bed. Tommy was tired anyway, and it wasn’t like he was going to wake up in the middle of the night, right?

\- - - - - - - - - 

Wrong.

Sure, he had gotten a bit of sleep, however he woke with a start out of the blue 15 minutes ago. There was no sign of rest for him in the very near future, so the teen opted to grab his tapes and wait out the night. It was 2:17 in the morning, which meant Tommy could run through all his songs a few times before he had to get up for school.

He made a move to sit up, however when he was halfway up, a thud was heard from the floorboards.

“Uh…” Tommy shifted to look down at where the noise originated from.

“Ow- Techno didn’t I ask you to move the sword if I ever spawned here again-” A floorboard was moved, and up sat a boy with split dyed hair and a mask, “Oh. You’re not Techno? Uhhh, sorry about this I guess? My name is Ranboo…… I’m just gonna… go get Phil to drive me home…”

Tommy watched as the person who just _appeared_ in the floorboards of the room he was in stood up and walked out. At least he had the common decency to close the door...

A faint conversation could be heard out in the hallway, even more confusing than an entire person being in the floor.

_“Mister Minecraft I frew up”_

_“Ranboo please that joke is so old-”_

Maybe it wasn’t too late to sleep anyway.

\- - - - - - - - - - - 

By morning, Tommy had convinced himself that the whole interaction was but a dream. The floorboards looked fine and who really had the time to double check anyway? He was much too busy getting ready, so long as you didn’t take into account the fact that school didn’t start for another 2 hours…

When he arrived downstairs, the smell of waffles was prominent. The color consistency in said food? Out the window. Techno’s were a dull pink with what looked to be berries in them, and they were consuming them taco-style. Phil’s were square, with the most normal toppings out of all of them, mind the granulated sugar on them. Wilbur’s were, well, Will didn’t have any on his plate yet, but that didn’t mean that he looked ravenous for what was to come.

Tommy went to sit down at the table, the only open spot being next to Techno, when Phil turned around with 2 waffles precariously balanced on a spatula.

“Will, here are your-” He let out a sigh, looking dejected, “-‘sand waffles’.” You could see the spark fizzle out of Phil’s eyes as Wilbur started to chant ‘Sand’ repeatedly.

Techno leaned towards Tommy and whispered to him, “It’s not really sand, but don’t tell him that. Phil just puts a shit load of brown sugar in the batter for him.”

Techno went back to eating his waffles, and a plate of toast with fruit was placed in front of him. 

“I didn’t know what type of waffles you liked, or if you liked them at all, so I just made you some toast, is that ok?” The eldest said, sitting down where his plate was at the table.

“That is completely fine Big Man, fruit ’s good for your bones I hear.” Tommy replied, tossing a raspberry in his mouth.

“That is not at all-” Techno glanced at the clock mid sentence, “....Nevermind. Tommy, grab your toast and a paper towel, I’ve gotta get you to school.”

Techno stood up and walked towards the kitchen, opening the cutlery drawer. He grabbed a chopstick and with a flick of the wrist, put his hair up. 

“But it’s only 7-”

“I’m a long-term sub there. You could call it an experiment of sorts technically.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They arrived there relatively early. Only a few people stood outside of the building in the morning fog, the chill still in the air from the night.

“Alright kid, if you wanna come in with me to my class, knock yourself out. I’ll have you know beforehand that I usually watch a show or two before my first period, so I am not responsible for anything you might hear,” Techno got out of the car, and looked Tommy dead in the eyes, “And not a word about this to other teachers.”

At first, Tommy thought that the other just didn’t want people to know of their relation, which had happened before this house, however when Techno pulled out a black longboard with a purple ‘C’ on it, he thought different.

Tommy watched as the pink-haired man skated away, and nodded at a figure in passing.

He walked over in the direction that the older had gone in, only to get waved down by someone.

“Oi! Tommy!”

The teen in question turned towards the shouting person, just for it to be Tubbo.

“‘Allo Tubster, how are you this morn’?” Tommy asked. It was right fuckin cold out and the smaller wasn’t wearing a jacket nor long sleeve.

“I’m freezing mate, it’s applesauce that it’s this cold out _this_ early-” He responded , rubbing his arms for added effect.

“What? I’m sorry- it’s what?”

Tommy watched as Tubbo stared him dead in the eyes, let out a sigh, and layer down on the ground.

“Tubbo are you good mate-” He was interrupted by the other with a shout.

“WHY DOES NO ONE IN THIS TOWN KNOW ANYTHING”

“.....I’ll take that as a no?”

\- - - - - - - - - - -

Tommy eventually looked up what that word meant. Some guy with mutton chops lent him a phone, only saying a simple ‘you owe me’ before walking off.

\- - - - - - - - - - -

**_“╎ᓭ ⍑ᒷ ᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⚍リᒷ↸?”_ **

**_“𝙹⍑ ↸ᒷ⎓╎リ╎ℸ ̣ ᒷꖎ||. ╎ ᓭᒷリᓭᒷ↸ ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᒷᓵ𝙹リ↸ ⍑ᒷ ᓵᔑᒲᒷ ╎リ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ↸𝙹𝙹∷.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got the reference in the parking lot bit, we’re married now 💍 /j
> 
> As always if you enjoyed, consider leaving kudos and or dropping a comment :)
> 
> (Pspspsps I also read all the comments, even though I might not respond to them because I am bad at conversation so thank y’all for the comedy :D )
> 
> Typos? I literally can not read, so they are Not there


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A burst of energy and a new friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter here, but who am I to deny a natural chapter break?
> 
> !!CW for transphobia after the first time skip and goes until the end of that!!
> 
> This whole thing was written to Mitski and Ricky Montgomery because SK8 the infinity is ruining me, so don’t @ me if it’s wonky-

The days were pretty standard here, as if in a routine of sorts. 

Tommy would wake up, get ready (and check for Ranboo in his floorboards, just in case), eat breakfast, and go to school with Techno. Then there was the standard class routine, eat lunch with Tubbo and Ranboo, go back to class, then go home.

Of course, there were your standard deviations. Exploring the woods on the weekends, skating lessons with Techno, sleepovers, etc. 

However there was definitely something up with the town, not to mention its residents.

\- - - - - - - - - - -

Tommy had noticed it when the person came in from out of town. Phil has informed the table at breakfast that Techno had fallen ill and would not be able to teach today.

(Later in the morning before Tommy had to leave, he went to check in on the man in question. While Techno didn’t physically look ill, there was both zero and millions of thoughts behind his eyes simultaneously.)

Without the normal ride, Tommy had arrived at school about 15 minutes late. When he quickly stumbled into his brother’s classroom, he was met with a pinchy old man talking in a completely monotone voice.

“..... Mr. Daniels. How kind of you to finally join us. Take your seat and expect a referral by tomorrow.”

Tommy sat next to Tubbo per usual, to which the shorter leaned over to whisper to him.

“This guy ‘s such a prude-” He was interrupted by said prude mid sentence.

“Ahem. Now as I was saying, there will be no talking. This is a lecture, not a party. If you must speak, you will only do so when spoken to, and take my word as gospel. No arguments. If even one of you steps out of line, I will keep you 5 minutes past the bell for every misdeed. Are we clear?” A chorus of nods seemed to be a good enough answer for him to prattle on with attendance. This in Tommy’s eyes, was the worst mistake of the day.

All was going fine and dandy until ⅔ down the list. The prune of a man squinted down at the paper he was reading from, looked back up, and scoffed.

“Is there an Alistair King here today.” The air in the class changed immediately.

Tommy and Tubbo shared a furious look, Ranboo had murder in his eyes, the girl sitting next to Eret, Niki, was halfway through standing up.

“All of you sit down and shut up.” And they did. No matter how hard some struggled to move, some supernatural force kept them in place.

“Now. Is there an Alistair here or not.”

“Sir, my name is Eret.”

The sub shot them a pointed stare and looked them up and down.

“Young man I want you to use your real name in this class. And your… clothes.. are against dress code. Go to the office and change.” 

The second those words left his mouth, something snapped in Tommy. It was as if a dam had broke, deep, deep in his soul. He had so much energy, it was fucking stupid that he ever thought he couldn’t move before now.

“Ex-fucking-scuse me?” Tommy slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, eliciting many a surprised look from his peers, “ _Their_ name is Eret you old fuck so get that in your smooth fuckin’ brain. And there is nothing wrong with their outfit, so get your transphobic sexist ass _out_ of my brother’s classroom. Now bitch.”

The look on the sub’s face was shocked, and before he could respond with whatever had compelled the class, a whisper was heard beside Tommy. Seconds later, the wrinkly fuck was being covered in ants.

“What in the Sam Hill- get these devils off of me-”

Ranboo snickered behind the two, seemingly forming a plan, “Sir, there’s bug spray under the desk, this happens a lot here.”

The prick frantically ducked down under, only to scream for a split second before mysteriously disappearing.

The class was silent for a second, before Eret stood up and started clapping.

“Well done everyone, that’s the fastest we’ve ever gotten rid of that fucker! But Ranboo, please stop eating subs, they have to get a new one every time you do this.”

What the fuck?

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

There were other times than that of course, but none as prominent as that. The occasional bruise or scrape healing too fast, a burst of speed in P.E, and other things around that genre.

It was late at night. Tommy had forgone his headphones for the night, as he had yet to find a pair that was compatible with the phone he had been gifted (?) by the man by the mall. And as one does late at night, Tommy was thinking.

Thinking about what the hell was up with this place.

Thinking about what had happened all those times.

Thinking about why he didn’t want to leave.

Was he some reincarnation of a god? The chosen one of these lands? The foretold in prophecy?

The faint sounds of This December were playing as Tommy decided on his improbable answer.

He must be some old god, born anew in these modern times-

**Now you’re starting to get it kid!**

What the fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any speculations on who the voice is? Any on what Tommy’s power is? (All powers have names on the same beat as the ones in Bungou Stray Dogs btw)
> 
> Kudos/Comments are greatly appreciated, and if you ever wanna chat or yag me in something, the insta is Sentient Water Cooler :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last short one i swear
> 
> !!cw for implied violence!!
> 
> (also yalls comments are sending me 💀)
> 
> (ALSO ALSO THIS WHOLE THING WAS WRITTEN TO THE LIVE STUDIO VERSION OF I/ME/MYSELF AND IT IS SUCH A GOOD SONG I VERY MUCH RECOMMEND YALL TO LISTEN TO IT)

**_Now you’re starting to get it kid!_ **

_ What the fuck. _

“What the fuck?! What the _ fuck _ ?!” Tommy was frantically looking around, searching for the source of the voice. A quick glance at the floor determined that Ranboo wasn’t in the ground, but who was talking? And where from?

Tommy picked up his phone, and pointed an accusatory finger at it.

“Mister Montgomery have you released a new song and not informed anyone-”

**What the fuck is a Montgomery.**

Tommy knew the chorus to Line Without A Hook like the back of his hand, and that certainly wasn’t in it.

“......God?” He glanced up as he said this, checking the ceiling for whatever spider-man had to be talking to him.

**You’re lookin’ the wrong way bucko-**

Tommy’s legs were quickly tucked back in his bed with a suspicious glance at the floor.

“Is this how I die. Do I die from some floor demon interrupting my 1 AM mix playlist.” 

**Relax, I can’t lay a finger on you from here. However I am here to give you an answer to your whole ‘Am I god?’ thing.**

“Oh my fuckin’ god. Am I….. god?” Tommy was looking at his hands in awe, flipping them over as if he was expecting them to glow suddenly.

**So, not exactly? I just thought that was a good time to make my entrance….**

“Well that’s lame.” He flopped back on the mattress, haven given up on trying to find where the voice was coming from.

**Do you want the explanation or not kid.**

“Yeah, yeah just hit me with it…”

**So, surprise! You’re an Avenger, now you may be wondering- wait that’s the wrong spiel, let me restart-**

**_You and the fellow people of this town all have special abilities granted to you by a higher power, The Crumpled. You are the reincarnation of a previous ability user, however you will not be able to remember your past lives no matter how hard you try. You will not know your ability until you yourself figure it out. Once the old man decides to tell you about this town, you will receive training. I would advise against already telling him now, however small vauges should be fine._ **

“And how do I know you’re telling the truth..?” Tommy was suspicious. You didn’t make it out in the real world without knowing if you’re getting swindled or not.

**Let’s take Pinkie next door, his ability is** **_To Rise Over All_ ** **. What he’s going through is a side effect of his ability. Go up to him with wooden training swords and say ‘I challenge you to spar’. He’ll lead you outside, and once you are defeated he’ll be back to normal. He won’t remember the match, nor the 5 minutes after it, so that’s your window to get back in here undetected.**

And well, who was Tommy to say no?

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

Techno was found, quite literally, in the washing machine. Something about a gift from the gods? A lighter?

The voice had informed him of the wooden training swords in the floorboards where Ranboo sometimes liked to spawn.

The very second that the phrase left his mouth, Techno stiffened. Almost as if his movements were robotic. There was a certain unsettle in the air, but nonetheless Tommy still followed him out to the large yard.

There was a chill breeze in the air, leaves in the trees rustling almost unnoticeably, the tall grass by the woods shimmering.

Techno was already in proper stance before Tommy could catch up to him. From what he had seen on the TV, his form was perfect. Whilst Tommy didn’t know the exact position fencers had, the way Techno was standing was damn near perfect for martial artists.

“ _ Boy of resilience, _ _ ” _ Well that certainly was not Techno’s regular voice,  _ “ _ _ Do you wish us to go easy on you. _ _ ”  _ The tone of the sentence didn’t sound like a question, yet Tommy answered anyway.

“Just do what you must to get Techno back to normal.”

\- - - - - - - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later, Tommy was on the ground, exhausted. His sword was 3 meters away whilst his opponent’s was still firmly in his grasp.

_ “ _ _ You fight well for the untrained. We will leave you with knowledge as a gift. _ _ ” _

Cryptic messages seemed to be the vibe of the evening, so Tommy listened.

_ “ _ **_This town is not what it seems. The man of green is trustworthy, yet he wears a coat of lies._ ** _ …...The Blade also wishes to teach you proper battle, remind him on the morrow. _ _ ”  _ As those words were spoken, Techno gave him a nod of approval before folding over in a heap on the grass.

**Five minutes kid. Better hurry.**

Tommy knew he couldn’t drag him back in the house before that time cap, so he bolted. He’d probably live.

…...Probably….

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Kid, wake up.**

**Hey,**

**Hey,**

**Hey,**

**Hey,**

  
  
  


**Or not. Fuck, I just hope your subconscious ‘ll at least remember this somewhere-**

**ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ||’∷ᒷ 𝙹リℸ ̣ 𝙹 ⚍ᓭ ꖌ╎↸. ╎ ↸𝙹リ’ℸ ̣ ꖌリ𝙹∴ ᒷ ̇/ᔑᓵℸ ̣ ꖎ|| ╎⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ꖌリ𝙹∴ ╎⎓ ╎ℸ ̣ ∴ᔑᓭ ||𝙹⚍ ∴⍑𝙹 ⎓╎ ̇/ᒷ↸ ℸ ̣ ᒷᓵ⍑リ𝙹.... ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ - ⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ’ᓭ ᔑ ʖ╎ℸ ̣ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ╎∷ ᓵ𝙹リ⍊ᒷ∷ᓭᔑℸ ̣ ╎𝙹リ.**

**“ℸ ̣ ᒷᓵ⍑リ𝙹 ||𝙹⚍ リᒷᒷ↸ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ꖌᒷᒷ!¡ ᓵ⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ╎リ ᓵ𝙹リℸ ̣ ∷𝙹ꖎ. ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ╎⎓ ℸ ̣ 𝙹ᒲᒲ|| ⎓╎⊣⚍∷ᒷ↸ 𝙹⚍ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹𝙹 ᓭ𝙹𝙹リ?”**

**“╎ℸ ̣ ↸ᔑᒲリ ∴ᒷꖎꖎ ᓵ𝙹⚍ꖎ↸ ⍑ᔑ⍊ᒷ ʖᒷᒷリ ℸ ̣ 𝙹ᒲᒲ||. ∴ᒷ ↸𝙹リ’ℸ ̣ ꖌリ𝙹∴ ∴⍑𝙹 ∷ᒷ╎⊣リᒷ↸ ╎リ ᓵ⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ᔑリ↸ ⍑ᒷ ᓵ𝙹⚍ꖎ↸ ⍑ᔑ⍊ᒷ ↸𝙹リᒷ ᓭ𝙹ᒲᒷℸ ̣ ⍑╎リ⊣ ᓭℸ ̣ ⚍!¡╎↸.”**

  
  


**….Whatever power you have has healed most of your visible scrapes, so we should be good for a bit.**

  
  


**Also please stop looping the Hamilton soundtrack at night, I can hear it too and some of us can’t sleep to that.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the washing machine bit was from an honest to god thing i said on vc with my friends when i found a lighter in there
> 
> (also there is LoreTM behind chat, can you guess what it is :) )


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! CW for fencing/swords and sparring/fighting !!
> 
> hi yes hello this is just your daily appreciation post for vigilante tommy fics
> 
> (would just like to make this clear really quick: i WILL NOT be writing any clearly romantic scenes in this fic. the main focus is not that, and the only romance here will be implied as i like the dynamic. these are NOT the ccs, these are the dsmp characters they portray.)

The room is loud.

There is no sound in the room.

How can this be?

No matter, you are somewhere else now.

Do you wish to enter the cafe?

You may stay on the brick road, but not for much longer.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What? That was a weird fuckin’ dream. God, he was exhausted from last night.

Time to start the routine again. Stretch out limbs, smooth hair, stop music, get out of bed, nod to Phil, walk to- Phil???

“You’ve slept through your first two classes and half of lunch.” Phil took a sip out of a mug he was holding, and set it down.

“Haha…. Philza Minecraft how long have you been sitting there….” Phil’s eyes darted to the clock, and then back at Tommy.

“Mmmmm, only about three hours. I came in after Techno gave up on poking you with a stick. Now, would you care to explain why you just speedran hibernation?”

Fuck. Fuck, think of something quick-

“I’m going nocturnal Big Man! I, the great Tommy Innit, trademarked by Thomas Issac-Daniels, have decided that the daytime is for pussies and therefore will not be taking part in it.” …..That works?

Phil chucked and stood up, “Well, I’ll just have to tell Tubbo that he won’t get to see his best friend anymore-”

“WHAT? NO NO NO FUCK NOT TUBBO-”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was sort of a game to him now, to try and guess people’s powers.

Eret’s was the most obvious. They obviously had some sort of mind reading ability, and didn’t try to hide it that much.

Tubbo’s was hard to guess, but then Tommy saw him both argue, and what looked to be striking a business deal with squirrels. That pretty much confirmed it.

Everyone else’s? A complete mystery.

However, that probably was because he only knew 3 people outside of the people he lived with.

It was 1:15, late enough in the day to get away with the ruse that Tommy had left school early if someone asked, yet also early enough so that the town would be relatively empty if he went out.

It was good to meet new people, especially since his friend count was a grand total of 5, not including Phil.

Downstairs, the eldest was fiddling with a SodaStream, only to get sprayed in the face with carbonated water.

“Fuck- Tommy can you grab me a towel, this shit’s in my eyes-”

“Sure thing old man,” Is Phil omnipresent? No, he would have known about the Techno thing if so, “Here you are, quick question though, can I go into town? I wanna scope out the competition.”

“Sure, you can use Will’s old bike, just be back before sunset.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

…

“Phil I will be buying paints while I am out.”

The bike in question looked awful.

It was in relatively good shape, however the colors on it were just terrible.

Pastel yellow was poorly covered up by sky blue, in some places was partially blended green, but most of the bike’s paint was chipped away and rusted.

“Yeah. I expected as much. Here’s a bag for whatever you buy, there’s some money in there as well.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The paint shop was a standard chain one, having a wall of paint cards across from a selection of paint brushes and rollers. There were a few isles with paint stripper, finishing coats, and other things. Tommy grabbed the stripper and finish and moved over to look at the different colors. He was thinking maybe a dark red with red stripes, or maybe black with red spirals.

The teen was comparing shades of red, when someone clapped a hand on his back.

Now Tommy was many things, brash, foolhardy, obnoxious, impulsive, and just a bit on the dense side. However he grew up on what was essentially the streets in a busy city, more specifically bouncing around the downtown area, and you don’t stay perfectly intact if you don’t know how to weasel your way out of testy situations.

Step One: Look out for red flags and warning signs.

Warning sign Number One: A clap on the back.

“Hey there buddy,” Warning sign Number Two already, “You’re Techno’s new family right?” That was strike three. The passive aggressive wording, the clap on the back, the question about relations, either something was about to go down in the Sherwin-Williams, or this bloke was just dense.

“...What’s it to you?”

“Oh! I play Minecraft with him, along with a few other ones. If you don’t know him, I’m so sorry for bugging you-” Tommy turned to face the person behind him.

They were around the same height as him, if not an inch or so taller. They had dirty blonde hair and violent green eyes. They donned a green hoodie with a smile on it, with some dark blue jeans

“Oh no worries man, I do know him. I just thought you were ‘bout to jump me is all.”

“Oh god no!” They lifted their hands up by their head to show they meant no harm as well, “My name’s Dream, he/him, I run the place next door. Pop on over any time if you ever want any fencing lessons.”

“Will do Big Man. Actually- I don’t have to be back for another few hours, after I grab my shit can you teach me? I wanna beat the shit outta Techno.”

“Beat Techno? You sure got guts kid, my place is to the left.” Dream waved a goodbye and left.

Tommy purchased what he needed and went over, moving the bike in front of the store.

“SAPNAP I SWEAR TO GOD STOP LIGHTING THE TRAINING SWORDS ON FIRE”

The scene before Tommy was one to behold.

In front of him was Dream, chasing someone who was wielding a flaming sword, around the mat. Above them was someone clutching the rafters for dear life.

“Uhhhh… hello?”

The person running froze, only to get tackled by Dream. The sword went out, which is when Tommy knew something was up. Was he about to let that show? Hell no.

“Hey Tommy, give me one sec real quick and I’ll find a sword your size,” Dream picked up a broom resting by the wall, walked over to where the third person was, and started whacking where their feet were,” George get off the rafters-”

“DREAM- STOP YOU’RE GONNA KILL ME”

“WELL THEN GET DOWN FROM THERE-”

Tommy blinked and the person, presumably George, was splayed on the ground.

“OUCH- FUCK YOU DREAM.” George stood up and flipped off the man in green, then went to go sit next to the other person.

“Alright!” Dream clapped his hands, “Introductions are probably a good idea, so I’ll go grab a training sword I think ‘ll fit you and let these two introduce themselves.”

Dream left the room, and the teen turned to the other two people.

“.....So I’m assuming you’re George,” Tommy gestured at the one with a blue sweater, layered over a white button up, “And you’re….?”

“‘Sup, I’m Sapnap, you normally won’t see me around here ‘cause I just chill here while my boyfriends are busy or outta town.”

“Pog champion lads, pog champion-”

Dream came back into the main room wielding two training swords in his hands.

“Alrighty Tommy, here’s Rule Number One of fencing,” Dream paused and grinned, “No shoes on the mat.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was starting to get dark, the clouds in the sky a light orange.

Dream had shown Tommy the basics, the proper way to hold the blade, the right stance to be in, how to block and disarm…. you get the gist.

After they had worked on the aforementioned, working on using that in sparring commenced.

The last match, Tommy had successfully disarmed Dream.

“Fuck yeah! Take that green boy, I’m movin’ up the ranks!”

Dream chuckled, “Well, I say we go once more. This time, I won’t go easy on you though.”

“Bring it on bitch boy, I’ll beat cho ass-”

“One thing before we start. You know, don’t you?”

Shit.

“Cool, cool, I’ll take the panicked look on your face as a yes.”

The air in the room changed. When previously it was all fun and games, this was now a test. A test to see if Tommy had the gall to be here. In the blink of an eye, it felt like a change between a warm summer’s day to a frigid winter evening.

The look in Dream’s eyes was also different. Bright green now was slightly dulled, a flash of gold now prominent. This was no test. This was the final exam and Dream was the professor.

A sharp snap filled the room, and milliseconds later Tommy was strung to the ceiling. It was as if he was a marionette doll, yet slightly off.

He was steadily attached to the ceiling by threads, that was prominent, however the strings stemmed from odd places. Both shoulders, the nape of his neck, his right ankle, his left wrist, and his right elbow.

All places Dream had touched him during lessons.

He still had some mobility, which means he could possibly cut himself down if he timed it right. However the only string he could cut was the one on his ankle.

“Well then! This is my ability,” Dream started walking forward towards Tommy as a car pulled into the parking lot, “Technically it’s called The Strings of Fate, but I think that sounds too fancy and just call it Puppeteer.”

Dream was closer now, close enough to be hit with a kick to the face.

As Tommy swung back to put momentum into his attack, a series of events unfolded.

Dream was flung backwards onto the mat, dropping his sword in the process.

George choked on his drink, watching the man get knocked over like a punching bag.

Phil walked in the door, just wondering why his new son was late to lasagna night.

“HAHA! TAKE THAT BITCH BOY, TOMMY-FUCKIN-INNIT TAKES NO L’S”

“FUCK- Jesus Tommy that hurt like a bitch-”

“Hey guys?”

“Uh oh”

“Oh no.”

“What the fuck?”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruh roh, tommy got caught beating the shit outta dream-
> 
> also the soda stream thing is something that has happened to me so many times, i hate that stupid fucking machine however it gives me soda so i cope /j
> 
> \- - - - - - - -
> 
> as always, please consider giving kudos and dropping a comment, it really gives me inspiration to work and y’all are also very funny :)
> 
> \- - - - - - - -
> 
> instead of plugging my socials, i’m gonna plug someone else’s:
> 
> my friend recently got affiliate on twitch!! consider checking them out and following at https://www.twitch.tv/espeonagexx


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